Moonfall | Book Two

CHAPTER 5 | PART 2

The following morning, Michael woke to the feel of a hand on his chest, while another gently stroked his head. He did not have to open his eyes to know who it belonged to. The scent of peony, and failure to maintain personal space by sitting so close to him on his bed he could feel her meant it could have only been his mother.

Good, he thought. Any other time he would have been annoyed at her unannounced visit, but it saved him a trip and ensured they could talk alone. He would tell her about the fairy, and, together, they could come up with a plan to deal with her.

When he opened his eyes and met hers, her hand stilled as she smiled down at him. "Good morning."

Upon seeing her, his father's threat drifted through his mind. It made him want to reach up and grab hold of her hand still placed on his chest—as if holding onto her was all he needed to do in order to protect her—but he did not. Instead, he sat up, even though he knew it would force her to pull both hands away.

"Where is Aunt Emilia?"

She placed her hands in her lap. "I sent her down to the dining hall to have breakfast."

"Why did you not go with her?"

"It seemed like you wanted to talk last night."

That was his mother. Perceptive, as always.

"Speaking of, did something happen between you and Lukas? It seemed like Emilia and I stumbled upon you two having a disagreement?"

Was that the guard's name?

Even with one, Michael still could not figure out why he seemed so familiar.

"I want him gone. We do not...mesh well."

"Lukas is a good man. He is not much older than you, but I trust him. 'Tis why I placed him to watch over you as your primary guard. So, please be a little nicer to him."

He had absolutely no intention of keeping Lukas as a guard, but that was an argument that could be made at a later time. There were more urgent matters to discuss, and no time to slowly ease into them.

"I should not have broken my promise to attend the meeting. I am sorry."

"Why did you miss it?"

"I went into the Woodlands."

"The Woodlands? What for?"

If he were to say it was because of an unexplainable urge to go into the very place he dreamt of almost every time he shut his eyes, it would have only raised questions he did not have answers to. So, he decided to get straight to the point.

"I came across a fairy."

He did not know why, but, for the time being, he decided to keep the part about the golden door to himself.

"You went into the Woodlands because you came across a fairy?"

He shook his head. "I came across her after going into the Woodlands."

She looked away and down at her hands for only a moment, then returned her gaze to him. "Are you certain she was a fairy?"

He nodded.

She then stood up, walked over to his window and stared outside. At the Woodlands.

"The Fae are supposed to be gone. They assured me they would never return, and we all know the Fae cannot tell lies. Unless..." she paused. "Perhaps she never made it out and has been in the Woodlands this whole time." She turned her head and looked at him. "Maybe she is stuck."

Whether she was stuck, abandoned, or exiled, it did not matter enough to Michael to make him care about her situation. He cared only about what her existence would mean for his mother, who—unbeknownst to the Wolves—secretly helped the Fae escape.